Music Man 212 Sixty Five

You know....It is what it is....
Hybrid amp. If you can get past your all tube snobbery, this one will bring you around.

Basically a poor mans Fender Twin. The Overdrive isn't great, but can certainly be fixed with a pedal. A Boss Blues driver with this amp is heaven. Play Blues, Classic Rock, Funk

30 years old, built like a tank. Ought to last another 30

Original MM is out of business, there are a lot of web sites with help and schematics. Most repair shops could help you out.

Been playing for 30 or more years, this is the sound I've been looking for, without robbing a bank to get it. Bought it used this year for $280. Best money I ever spent. Play Les Paul, Strat, Tele All sound great and unique. Love to buy more. This model can be played at reasonable volumes at home unlike the 130.

I Am a Musician of 34 years..I Own A 1974 Music Man 65 watt 212....it is by far the best amp i have ever owned..it being a 65 watt it is versatile and controllable the 100 watt and 130 watt Music Man amps i have owned were way too loud extremely clean and super loud i had to use a power soak...the 212 65 i picked up on e bay last year it was ragged out but with a little cleaning new grill cloth,tubes,2 12" celestions..this amp is absolutely perfect and in show room condition..i have played it on 4 gigs so far and it is so very sweet..i have a very old fender twin and i hate to say it but its a better amp...actually it sounds like my very first fender champ amp "which i still have" but with more power and heavier tone..i love it and will never part with it..i play an old stock strat & a Tele though it..nothing like it!...i do have a powerful Schecter with 2 super distortion dimarzio's in it...it sounds interesting but nothing you want to do on a continuous basis

When i need to i can reach out and touch someone with this old Amp allthough its 65 watts....it will still get out there very warm sweet and has crunch depending on what you have plugged into it

Very Very Reliable

if i ever see another 65 watt 212 i am going to grab it...these are truely amazingly sweet amps..you have a fender twin that you can control

i have the 212 65 with a solid state preamp (late 70's-early 80's). Good features. Like a old fender except for the master volume

I give the sound quality a 9 and here is why. The amp sopunds great if you play very clean. It will be very close to the articulate clean playing of dire traits "in the gallery". Great sound for this or to play rhythm chords with. The best sounding amp I own to make my tele sound competant at jazz (kenny burrell and grant green).
But there is a major drawback with the amp. If you want to play overdriven lead guitar with this amp look elsewhere. I can't get it to breakup even with the master volume and every overdrive pedal I've thrown at it makes it sound not good. Here is where I always would play through my 1968 fender bandmaster. Overdiven lead (I use a Boss od-1) though I was so put off by the sound of it through the musicman that I bought a Emma reezafratziz overdrive. Even this didnt sound good. The od1 through the fender sounds far better but if I want to play clean rhthym or leads I would play the musicman over the fender. this amp taught me that each amp does something really good.

I bought this amp about three years ago and it liteally looks to be about a year or two old. I swapped out the tubes for JJ's but did not notice any difference in sound. Occaisonally after about thirty minutes of playing it will get a bit quieter and then it will get a bit louider. This is ok for practice but she is not stage ready.

Long out of business.

i've been playing 15 years. I own a champ a bandmaster and several solid state amps. I play american fender guitars. I'd buy it again but part of what sold me is eric claptons use of these amps (check out backless album cover etc) Still not sure how he got his to overdrive but he did have preamp tubes and maybe this makes the difference. At the end of the day it is not really a tube and and it is not really solid state. I think its time to shine is as a jazz amp. super clean and articulate but not as sterile as a solid sttate amp but not as overdriven as a tube amp.

Early to Mid 70's MusicMan 212 Sixty Five. All tube power amp / solid state preamp. 65 watts. 2 -12 inch speakers. Reverb and Vibrato. Two channels, not switchable. Sounds killer!

This amp sounds soooo good! It is basically a Fender Twin copy. Dick Dale drippy surf reverb for days!! This amp has the best clean sound!
Gets really loud. If you need distortion you gotta use a pedal. The clean channel will overdrive slightly if pushed but not enough for me.

This amp has been around for 30+ years and still sounds great. It has minor noise issues (what tube amp doesn't?). I can depend on this amp! Leo Fender made great guitars and amps!

I love this amp so much. It's my everyday use amp: great for practicing or gigging. Sounds great, built solidly.

I believe the amp was built in between 1976-1977. 1975,I was playing a gig at a Holiday Inn in Lido Beach,(Sarasota)Florida. I remember seeing a Music Man amp at the local music store and immediately got a snobby attitude about it as a "Fender Amp" wanabe. After all,I simply bleed Fender!
So,fast forward 30 years later. Now, I service my own Fender amps as well as my customers. This past July, I met a guitar player who brought a 1976-77 210-65 to a local jam. It was very remenisant of my 1973 Vibrolux. Two "things" got my attention; A solid state preamp and EL-34s for output tubes. I got to talking with Roy and suggested I could make the amp sound better. He took me up on my offer. I replaced the EL-34's with Wing "C" brand, the 12AX7 phase inverter with a GT 12AX7M, all the Mallory .047 caps have been replaced with Sozo's of the same value. The AC filter caps were replaced with Sprague-Atoms of the same value (The 2-20mf@475V were replaced with 2-20mf@500V) The original 10" speakers were replaced with Ted Weber 10" 50 watt-F150's with Ted Weber beam blockers. The only "mod" I made was disconnecting the .001 caps on the EL-34's. Gerald Weber taught this one, it simply robs the harmonic structure. At this point,the amps' tone was raised to level of what I would consider boutique. Roy plays a LP studio, a strat with duncans, and stock 89 Gibson 335. I also turned Roy on to the "Tim" pedal from Paul Cochrane. The amp now turns heads with incredible tone, period. I was so impressed with the results I started looking for one for me and found a 1975-76 212-65 from the original owner.

I did the same thing to the 212-65. Right I am experimenting with a set of Weber California's. I cannot believe the compliments. I play a 74 and 76 strat with Bill Lawrence pups (from Bill and Becky Lawrence), a 52 RI tele with Lawrence pups, a 75 LP and 89 Lp with Fralins, a Gretsch 6120 Jr with TV Jones pups, a Ric 350V63 with ric buckers, a 68 345with stock pups,a ric 660-12 with stock ric pups, and a gibson blues hawk with gibson P-100's. I find the music man has its own flavor and doesn't get in the way of the guitars's tone. All the guitars tone has a very intersting and compeling edge to it. I really like the way the EL34's sound compared to 6L6's. I guess it like Fender and Marshall come together in the Music Man amps. The amp does have a small bit of hiss. However, dialing in a tone is cake. I like the idea of a high and low output power setting. The tremelo has fender type settings and then there are more. The reverb sounds great..you can get that "drippy" surf tone if you want it.

So far its been great, 2 gigs. I expect it to work every time I use it.

The amp company is gone. However a wonderful website is available for Musci Man amps.

I have been playing for 41 years. I attended Berklee College of Music, I teach guitar, gig professionally, repair amps and guitars, and still have the passion. I don't which guitar amp is the best. I've heard dumble and it is by far the best sounding amp I ever heard regardless of price. Maybe that's because Larry Carlton and Robben Ford use them. They are awesome players(some of my favorites)and can make any amp or guitar sound like a million bucks! I use 3 different over drive pedals; Fulltone Fulldrive ll with all the features included in the latest custom shop model, a Fulltone OCD, and a Paul Cochran "Tim" along with a fulltone fat boost and a host of other pedals. I am using all Bill Lawrence cable (try comparing this cable to George L you will be pleasantly surprised!). I am totaly blown away by how these amps sound with just a few upgrades. The great news at this point in time is Music Man amps are very affordable. So, if you are searching for "that tone" you may want to try a MM amp. please feel free to email me with comments, suggestions, or questions.
Good luck and all the best to you!

I play a Tele through this thing for a great country combo. This is basicly a twin but I feel it's better. The date I'm not sure of but it's most likely from the mid to late seventies. This thing will crank for only 65 watts. I bought this amp used in 1988 for $350 and have used it faithfully on every gig,jam session and practice since then. I use a Boss multi effects with it but it's great by itself. Basiclly use the effects pedal for some compression and delay for a great country sound.

It's a little noisy but that's part of it's personality. You can get a good clean sound out of it and plenty of volume before it starts to break up.

I have never done anything to this amp. It's never been abused but it has been used alot. This thing probally has 100,000 miles of traveling in a car. I never worry about a spare. It has never let me down.

Customer support? What's that! I can't find any C.S. for it but then again I haven't had a need for it.

Equal if not better than a twin at half the price. You couldn't replace this amp with anything on the market today and get the same sound. it has a sound all of it's own.

I have owned my Music Man 212 65 Watt since I bought it new in 1976 in Cincinnati, Ohio. I have used other amps (Fenders), but I always have come back to my Music Man. After all these years I am going to have to bring in it in for service - the first service call in 28 years. Everything is original.

Features are very basic - it's basically a Fender twin...


Todd Butler

I use a Fender Custom Shop Telecaster with a bad fat humbucker - the amp sounds great...noise level is low - even after all these years - occasional issues with flourescent lights, but that is rare...I use a Boss effect pedal and anything I've psuhed through the amp sounds great.

Have a back up little Fender - but the Music Man has never failed

N/A

This amp has never failed me, sounds great...

Made in 1978
A true "Twin" killer
Features same as what everyone else already said.
I use this amp giging and jamming - really - ok for any small venue
Holy smokes this thing is loud - I mean clean loud - you better hit all your licks because you can sure hear it if you mis-fret a note or chord. Make me focus

I have a 1970 LP Goldtop and a 1982 - 57 re-issue Strat. The amp brings out the true tones, nuances, and color of the stock pups in each of these guitars. There is a big diff in each of these guitar's sounds. Very nice - each unique in it's own way. I am an old guy - so I play old blues - rock stuff (what has now moved over to "Classic" radio stations!)
A very clean - loud amp - the distortion is there but. . . just not as pronounced as today's modern rock sound. (it was made in the 70s)
I run a couple of stomp boxes and can get almost any sound for whatever style/type of music we are playing - did I mention this amp is frickin loud?

It is rock solid. I think it gets louder as it warms up! That's what the boys say when we are playing. Maybe after all this time I should have it serviced?
This thing is more than 20 years old and works great! Never changed tubes or had it in the shop

MusicMan is long gone - Thank you Leo Fender for the legacy

I have been playing for 30+ years (still learning)
Hard to find thes collectables anymore - EBay I guess
If it were stolen - would not be able to replace
I love the fact that it has great sound, is portable - I can actually hump this thing around without bustin' a nut.
I hate that MM went out of business - lots of big time stars used thes amps. Check out SRVs DVD - first time at Montreux - he is playing through a music man - he is standing in front of it - when he moves to the side you can see it behind him. Eric Clapton - Johnny Winter still tours with his!

Late 70's.

Great blues/garage rock/alt.country amp. Love it.
2 channels--no channel switch, though. one clean. one with trem and reverb. master on both.

wonderful tube crunch. This is a great amp...

play with:

66 Harmony H-72. 71 Tele. 66 Harmony H-18. 65 Harmony H-15. Danelectro Hodad.

ALL of them sound distinct and beautiful thru this amp. Great control and balance on the distortion. Can be creamy and crunchy. The clean has a fair amount of headroom...the reverb is true feneder Dick Dale reverb.

the termolo sucks...but it may be a tube issue...am going to have it serviced and see...

Don't know yet...but it's 25 years old and kicking, so it should be ok.

I would replace this--great amp for clubs/shows...the only downside to it is that it's really heavy. The weight's a drag, but the tone's worth it.

This is an update to my review of this amp, printed immediately below. I recently took my sixty-five 212 in for repair, and the tech, a nice chap named George at Music Empire in Riverside CA, told me that the Sylvania tubes in there were probably the originals, and they are dated 1979. When I expressed some surprise, (I bought it in ?91, I think), he told me that tubes last a long time if the amplifier is not pushed. I usually never crank the volume above 2, which explains it.
Regarding the vintage of one of these amps, I noticed an interesting piece of info on a MusicMan devotees? website that I don?t know if I?m allowed to mention here (I merely typed ?music man amps? in the browser). A very knowledgeable and helpful fellow named Steve Kennedy says, ?The rule of thumb for the 65-series is:
If it has a 12AX7 phase splitter tube, then it falls between 1974 and 1977. If it doesn't have the 12AX7, then it falls between 1977 & 1980. Removing the chassis from the cabinet and finding a handwritten date is the only way to date it to a particular year as far as I know. ?

Every bit of info helps!